Cable Asylum: REVIEW: Clarity Wire Emberglow Interconnect Cable by Chris Wynn

Clarity Wires Ember Glow (& Moonlight) Audio Interconnect

I recently had the opportunity to try "Clarity Wires" Audio Interconnect in several of my home audio set-ups. I was asked by Bill Baker of Response Audio (1-888-785-9773) to evaluate this new product, which he was confident would impress me. He highly recommended the interconnects for use with my Jolida hybrid amp.

These interconnects are hand made and feature braided conductors inside a flexible wire-mesh outer jacket. The phono plugs are quite robust and make good connections with the electronics with which they are partnered.

I started by evaluating the "Ember Glow" interconnect. It had some readily identifiable sonic characteristics. The "Ember Glow" sounded crisp and natural, and displayed a mid-forward sonic balance, which is useful in systems requiring more detail, clarity, and musical insight. The mid-forward balance does not mate as well with electronics which already sound astringent and analytical. The mid-forward balance highlights the leading edges of musical notes and illuminates detail in dense sonic mixes.

The bass of the "Ember Glow" interconnect sounded particularly strong. Any piece of music featuring deep bass displayed much greater speed, impact, and power. I was particularly struck by the bass extension that the "Ember Glow" interconnect brought out of my B&W P4 speakers. I had never before heard the P4's single, six-inch woofer create such colossal bass dynamics and slam. Using the "Emberglow" the bass chords in Aaron Copland's "Fanfare for the Common Man" created the kind of floor-buckling, wall shaking pressure wave that is usually the reserve of large, high quality subwoofers. Moreover, "Ember Glow" seemed to tighten up the exceptional bass speed, tightness, and pitch accuracy that the P4s are famous for.

The "Ember Glow" also preserved the bass rhythm of rock and dance tracks. All bass led tracks sounded big, bold, and rhythmic.

The "Ember Glow" seemed to combine this bold and rhythmic bass with alot of delicacy and grace in the mids and highs. The interconnect seems particularly suited to reproducing all forms of music.

The "Moonlight" interconnect sounded just as crisp and refined as the "Ember Glow" but added the gentlest of treble roll-offs to restrain treble "bite." This was quite effective at taming rough recordings but well-balanced recordings sounded slightly less airy and immediate. For this reason, I preferred the "Ember Glow" interconnect. Overall, either "Clarity" wire might be just what the doctor ordered to add life and excitement to many a lackluster system.

REVIEW: Clarity Wire Emberglow Interconnect Cable Review by Chris Wynn at Audio Asylum